Man rescued from truck stuck in sink hole in Central Falls

By Melissa Randall

mrandall@abc6.com

A man was rescued by a police officer in Central Falls Tuesday after his pick up truck was swallowed  by a large sink hole.

Officials believe a water main break may have caused the sink hole to open up at the intersection of Hunt and Liberty Streets.

The heavily traveled roadway was closed off near the Ella Risk School for an extended period of time Tuesday afternoon.

The driver of the vehicle, Joe Auntes, emerged from the vehicle without a scratch, "The door opened, police pushed me outside," he said.

Central Falls Police Officer Lt. Craig Horton was working a detail a block away when found out about the sink hole and immediately sprang into action to help Auntes escape the rushing water around the submerged truck.

"I think it was very serious to get him to safety. As you can see, that could have gotten even worse. That truck may have gone completely under," explained Horton.

The truck sat for hours as no one was allowed to get to close on the potentially unstable ground.

"The concern is how much is actually underneath that we cant see. We are trying to keep the public back for safety reasons," said Central Fall Fire Department Deputy Chief Keith Sullivan.

Officials say a piece of the 20 inch water main appeared to have let go, but they are unsure of heavy rain was a contributing factor.

"We're not sure what happened first. If it was the sewer that failed, which caused the water to break…or in what sequence of the event," said Sullivan.

The truck was eventually lifted out of the sink hole by crane and utility company crews were able to start their investigation once the water drained.

Crews tell ABC6 only a couple dozen properties are without water but should have it back by Wednesday morning, which is when the road should be back open as well.

© WLNE-TV 2015